Instructional Technology News – August 18 – Welcome to Fall 2021 and Happy #FirstDayUA

• August 18th, 2021
• in -Instructional Technology News

Dear instructors,

Welcome to the fall 2021 semester at The University of Alabama! Your colleagues here in The Center for Instructional Technology are available to help with your instructional technology and accessibility needs. We provide training, support, workshops, webinars and consultations for  UA’s instructional technologies which include Blackboard Learn, Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, Flipgrid, Gradescope, Hypothesis, Panopto, People.ua.edu websites, Respondus, Turnitin, Turning mobile responseware and Zoom.

Learn more about each of these technologies on our website. A few noteworthy items to bring to your attention:

Blackboard Learn

In case you missed it, Blackboard Learn recently moved to the cloud! With the move came a new look, Blackboard Ultra Base Navigation. Ultra provides a new way to navigate course content that will save you time and help you stay on top of what’s important. Visit our website to see highlights of Ultra Base Navigation. We ask your continued patience as we continue to work through Known Issues following the recent upgrade.

Panopto

Before a course will appear in your Panopto list of courses, you must provision that course for use with Panopto. You can provision your course by clicking on the “Course Videos” button that appears in your Blackboard course menu and following the setup instructions. We’re happy to share that Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) generated captions are now automatically added to Panopto videos. Accurate captions enhance learning and ensure access for all. Be sure to review and edit captions for accuracy.

Hypothesis

Following a successful pilot, Hypothesis is here to stay! Hypothesis is a collaborative annotation tool. It makes reading active, visible, and social, enabling students to engage with their texts, teachers, ideas, and each other in deeper, more meaningful ways. Visit our website for Hypothesis highlights and resources.

Gradescope

Gradescope is another tool recently adopted after a successful pilot. Gradescope can be used for evaluating handwritten responses, programming, diagrams, formulae, and other coursework that can be challenging to assess virtually. Additional information about Gradescope and steps for adding it to your Blackboard course are available on the CIT website.

Reach out for help.

We’re here to help. You can reach us at cit@ua.edu or 205-348-3532. Join us at an upcoming webinar or schedule a consultation with us.

Want more updates from us? Subscribe to our news updates and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

We wish you all the best this semester!

Instructional Technology News – August 16

• August 16th, 2021
• in -Instructional Technology News

Hello instructors,

Melissa here from The Center for Instructional Technology. As you may know, our team recently migrated UA’s instance of Blackboard Learn to the cloud. While the migration was successful, there are a couple of Blackboard-related Known Issues I’d like to make sure you’re aware of. I also ask your patience as your colleagues in CIT work to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.

1. Certain Banner events – users getting added to or dropped from courses, instructor course assignments, etc. – continue to process. Until this issue is resolved, your Blackboard course and user lists may not reflect the same data that is in myBama.
2. The Blackboard Learn Section Maintenance tool typically accessible via the Faculty/Academics tab in myBama is not functioning correctly. Until this issue is resolved, instructors wishing to combine two or more Blackboard courses must contact CIT to request the creation of supersections. Please include the course registration number (CRN) of each course you wish to combine in your request.

Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we work to resolve these issues and bring Blackboard Learn back to full functionality.

Melissa

Instructional Technology News – August 13

• August 13th, 2021
• in -Instructional Technology News

Hello instructors,  

I am pleased to let you know that UA’s instance of Blackboard Learn has successfully moved to the cloud! Blackboard Learn, and the other affected instructional technologies, are now available. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we performed these necessary upgrades! 

Notes and next steps: 

• I invite you to log into Blackboard Learn and check out the new Ultra Base Navigation. Step-by-step guides and a video introduction of the new Ultra look are available on our website. 

• If you use digital resources from a third-party in your Blackboard Learn course, please test them and confirm their functionality as soon as possible. If you find that anything is not fully functional, please let us know.  

• Certain Banner events – users getting added to or dropped from courses, new course and supersection creation, etc. – will continue to process over the weekend. If your course list does not appear as expected on Monday, please contact us after confirming your schedule in myBama. Note that access to some courses, including those supported by The College of Continuing Studies, is not available until the first day of classes. 

• Panopto users: Before a course will appear in your Panopto list of courses, you must provision that course for use with Panopto. You can provision your course by clicking on the “Course Videos” button that appears in your Blackboard course menu and following the setup instructions. 

Join us next week for a live, virtual “Meet Ultra Base Navigation” workshop where we provide an overview of the new Ultra look. Details about these and other workshops are available on our website. We’ll be in touch next week with more beginning of the semester reminders as we approach First Day UA! 

Thank you,  

Melissa 

Instructional Technology News – August 9

• August 10th, 2021
• in -Instructional Technology News

Hello instructors,

Meg here from the Office of Information Technology. While our CIT team is busy migrating Blackboard to the cloud, I want to share a few IT items to help you (and your students) be prepared for the Fall 2021 Semester.

Crimson email is now powered by Microsoft O365.

Early this summer OIT migrated student and alumni Crimson email accounts from Google to Microsoft O365. We did this to increase collaboration among students and faculty/staff by hosting email together in one environment. Hosting student email in O365 allows for students, faculty and staff to be in the same email directory, and it allows for more functionality with tools like Microsoft Teams.

Students can use a variety of methods to access their email. Here’s four options:

1. Log into myBama.ua.edu and click the Crimson Email link
2. Visit mail.crimson.ua.edu on the web
3. Add the account to the Outlook desktop app
4. Add the account to the Outlook mobile app

Students should be accessing their email regularly to receive important campus updates. If your students have any questions about email, please direct them to the OIT website where we have more information and answers to frequently asked questions – oit.ua.edu/crimson.

Connect to Eduroam wireless internet.

This summer we changed how individuals connect to the Eduroam wireless internet network. Individuals must connect with an email address and myBama password.

For faculty and staff, that’s your myBama username@ua.edu email address. Students can connect with their Crimson email address. Returning students and faculty may need to re-establish a connection upon arrival to campus. More information about campus internet service is available on our website.

Download free software.

OIT offers many software packages to students, faculty and staff. Visit oit.ua.edu/software to download software tools like Adobe Creative Cloud, MATLAB, McAfee Antivirus, Microsoft O365 and more.

Move content from Google Drive to Microsoft OneDrive.

Beginning May 2022, OIT will no longer support Google Drive for Crimson accounts. Students should begin using UA’s preferred cloud storage service, Microsoft OneDrive. Step-by-step guidance is available on our website for moving content out of Google Drive and into Microsoft OneDrive. If you share any materials with students via Google Drive, please make the switch to OneDrive.

We’re here to help.

Visit oit.ua.edu for more information about IT services.  You can also reach us at the IT Service Desk, itservicedesk@ua.edu or 205-348-5555.

Continue learning, even while Blackboard is unavailable.

The CIT team is hard at work updating Blackboard Learn. Melissa will be in touch later this week when Blackboard service resumes. In the meantime, we’ve added several webinars and workshops to our website to encourage students and instructors to continue learning, even while Blackboard Learn is down. I hope to see you in one of the Outlook and OneDrive workshops tomorrow!

Thanks,

Meagan

Instructional Technology News – August 3

• August 3rd, 2021
• in -Instructional Technology News

It’s here. After more than one full year of preparation, the CIT is moving Blackboard Learn to the cloud! We’ve been buzzing about this upgrade since April, and we appreciate your patience as we perform the upgrade to make UA’s instance of Blackboard Learn a more flexible, scalable and resilient platform.

In case you missed it, Blackboard Learn will be unavailable Aug. 5-13 for a database migration and upgrade. With the upgrade comes an enhanced look known as Ultra Base Navigation. Ultra provides a new way to navigate course content that will save you time and help you stay on top of what’s important. Visit our website to see a preview of Ultra, along with answers to frequently asked questions.

While Blackboard is down, I encourage you to partake in an instructional technology workshop. Meet your new favorite tool: Flipgrid, or refresh your Zoom skills. We hope to see you in a workshop next week.

Our team will be offering a new workshop – Meet Blackboard Ultra Base Navigation, to introduce the new features that come with Ultra. Make plans to attend!

We’ll be in touch next week as we wrap up the migration to the cloud. As always, reach out to us with any questions or concerns. We’re here to help.

Instructional Technology News – June 10

• June 10th, 2021
• in -Instructional Technology News

Blackboard cleanup to begin July 15.

Beginning July 15, the Center for Instructional Technology will remove old course content from the Blackboard Learn system. This is in accordance with UA’s LMS Course Retention Policy, which states that materials more than two years old will be removed from the system. Students and instructors should save any materials they wish to keep.  Visit the CIT website for more information on how to back up Blackboard content.

Blackboard is moving to the cloud!

August 5 – 13, Blackboard Learn will be unavailable while UA’s instance of Blackboard Learn moves from being hosted in Blackboard’s data centers to being hosted in the cloud, also known as software as a service (SaaS). Moving to the cloud allows for flexibility, scalability, resilience and innovation. With this move, Blackboard will get a new look – Ultra Base navigation.

If you’ve used Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, you’ve already experienced a taste of the Ultra look. The Ultra base navigation offers a modern, intuitive and personalized look characterized by simple workflows and an accessible fully responsive design. For more information, visit our website. As we approach the SaaS migration in August, we will post additional tutorials, guides and information.

Flipgrid to replace VoiceThread.

UA is transitioning from VoiceThread to Flipgrid as our video discussion and collaboration tool. Flipgrid offers a modern, fun and accessible video discussion option for UA instructors and students, ideal for engaging students asynchronously. By using Flipgrid, instructors can increase feelings of social connections and community among students while providing students with the opportunity to develop their voices. All UA students, faculty and staff have access to Flipgrid through UA’s Microsoft license agreement. Learn more on our website, and start using Flipgrid today!

Instructional Tech News – March 30

• March 30th, 2021
• in -Instructional Technology News

Faculty Roundtable – A Year in Review 

Join the CIT for a faculty roundtable to share your experiences teaching in the 2020-2021 academic year. Let’s learn from one another. What worked? What didn’t? Share strategies that you successfully implemented in the classroom – whatever that looked like for you. Join us to share it all; the good, the bad, the ugly, and no we aren’t just talking about Zoom filters. Save the date, May 7, and we’ll be in touch with meeting details soon.

Blackboard Collaborate Ultra Maintenance

Thursday, April 8 Blackboard will be releasing a new version of Blackboard Collaborate Ultra. Users can expect intermittent availability during the maintenance window, 1am – 5am on Thursday, April 8. Details about the new version, and its features, are available on the CIT website.

Update Zoom

Keep your Zoom software updated to receive the latest security patches and feature enhancements.  Visit the Zoom website for instructions on updating to the newest version.

Zoom Recordings

Remember – Zoom cloud recordings auto-delete after 60 days. Be sure to download recordings you wish to keep before they are deleted.

Blackboard Webinar Series

Blackboard offers free, ongoing webinars to help instructors make the most of teaching with Blackboard Learn and Blackboard Collaborate. Topics include “Blackboard Collaborate Basics” and “Grading in Blackboard Learn” as well as an “Ask the Experts” series. Learn more on Blackboard’s website.

Instructional Tech News – March 1, 2021

• March 1st, 2021
• in -Instructional Technology News

Midterm Grades due March 5 at Midnight

Midterm grades are due 3/5 at 11:59 p.m. Instructors are required to submit midterm grades for all 100- and 200-level courses. Midterm grading should be used to submit grades assigned for non-attendance.

Helpful Grading Info

• Importing Final and Midterm Grades from Blackboard into MyBama
• Assigning Non-Attendance Grade Reason in MyBama
• Non-Attendance Grade Requirements (from Registrar)

Reporting a non-attendance grade? Find the date the student last accessed your Blackboard course using the Performance Dashboard or by viewing the Last Access column in the Full Grade Center.

Students unable to see feedback?

For a student to see written feedback on a test or assignment, students will go to My Grades in Blackboard, then click on the name of the assignment/test. For a test, they will also need to click on their grade to view test questions, answers, or feedback. To view overall assignment feedback in a pop-up window, students can click on the comment bubble next to their grade on the My Grades page.

If students are not seeing feedback for a Turnitin assignment, make sure the Post Date has passed in the assignment settings. If the post date has passed, students can follow along with this video to view their feedback. If you or your students continue to have issues navigating feedback or Peer Mark assignments, please let CIT know!

Instructional Tech News – Feb. 23

• February 23rd, 2021
• in -Instructional Technology News

Customizing the Blackboard Grade Center
Need to align your Grade Center with your course syllabus? Learn how to create columns, weight grades, and adjust your schema with CIT’s Blackboard Advanced: Setting Up the Grade Center YouTube video.

Midterm Grades due March 5 at Midnight

Midterm grades are due 3/5 at 11:59 p.m. Instructors are required to submit midterm grades for all 100- and 200-level courses.  Midterm grading should be used to submit grades assigned for non-attendance.

Helpful Grading Info

• Importing Final and Midterm Grades from Blackboard into MyBama
• Assigning Non-Attendance Grade Reason in MyBama
• Non-Attendance Grade Requirements (from Registrar)

Zoom with Closed Captioning and Live Transcripts
Zoom live transcription is now available for UA Zoom accounts! This can be enabled by the host, and any participants can view the captioning as needed. Live transcription only supports English. To enable captioning, sign into the Zoom web portal and edit In Meeting (Advanced) Settings.

Instructional Tech News – Jan. 25

• January 25th, 2021
• in -Instructional Technology News

Using Panopto in Safari Reminder

Safari users may need to make a settings adjustment if prompted to log into Blackboard when accessing a course. We have step-by-step guidance on our website. This setting can also affect other Blackboard content, such as RedShelf or publisher content.

Zoom Airplay Issue

Our teams are investigating an issue where some presenters are unable to connect devices via Airplay when screensharing during a Zoom meeting. Visit the CIT News page for updates as our teams work toward a resolution.

VoiceThread Workshops

Our colleagues at VoiceThread are offering many free webinars in the coming weeks. One that could be particularly beneficial for UA instructors, Using VoiceThread in Blackboard. Learn more about this webinar, and others, on the VoiceThread website.

CIT Workshops

Speaking of workshops, we have our own in-house lineup. Looking ahead I suggest the Feb. 17 workshop, Using Collaborate Ultra in Blackboard. Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is a superb option for A/V and online classes as the tool is within your Blackboard course. Learn more, and register for the workshop, on our website.

You have questions, we have answers.

Give us a call at 205-348-3532, email us at cit@ua.edu or book an appointment to meet with us online.